Greenleaf Book Group is a proponent of aligning content creation with audience strategy. To that end, the company will be using its time at BEA this year to promote its platform development program, a comprehensive resource for authors and professionals looking to grow their influence, and to retain the rights to their work and still compete with the major publishing houses.
Since launching in late 2011, the platform has signed up about two dozen authors, according to Tanya Hall, Greenleaf’s director of marketing and business development. One of those authors is Karen D. Purcell, P.E., whom Hall makes particular mention of as a success story of Greenleaf’s. Her book, Unlocking Your Brilliance: Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (which will be published by Greenleaf in 2012), is a call to action for more women to join the male-dominated STEM fields. Greenleaf helped Purcell move the book from concept to published book, along the way creating a brand for Purcell, doing publicity outreach, and developing a Web site. Says Hall, “We conceived of a nonprofit organization to help Karen serve the educational and financial needs of young women interested in STEM.” As the pub date approaches, Hall says that Purcell and Unlocking Your Brilliance have generated multiple speaking requests and numerous media hits.
Since Greenleaf’s platform development program isn’t limited to Greenleaf authors, Hall plans to spend her time at BEA speaking with other publishers and agents to raise awareness of the program and explore opportunities for partnerships.
